Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake Preview: Adventure Awaits

Dragon Quest has returned, along with its sequel, in Square Enix’s latest HD-2D remake, and my God is it gorgeous.

After going hands-on with both titles at Gamescom I got to see first-hand the visual improvements that have been made with the game, and they’ll make any Dragon Quest fan giddy new or old giddy.

For a bit of context Square Enix released a remastered version of Dragon Quest III, as that game comes first in the timeline. Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest II pick up where the third game left off, as the mantle of hero is passed down to new generations.

Re-releasing these games in such a way has done more than give them a fresh coat of paint and a chronological order too, as new content has been added to Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest II that directly tie-in to the events of Dragon Quest III. There’s even a new party member for the second game, Princess Of Cannock, who originally had a larger role in the initial release before it was scrapped and reworked for this remaster.

Square Enix

Gameplay-wise it won’t feel foreign to Dragon Quest fans nor anyone who’s ever played a turn-based RPG, though a few quality-of-life improvements like speeding up time and allowing your party to fight automatically do make things like combat encounters a little lighter. You can of course take a more hands-on approach if you wish.

Visually the games look great, though the one that really stood out to me was Dragon Quest II, especially setting sail across crystal clear waters with the ship.

It’s also worth noting that the original releases of Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest II never landed in Europe, so for many players this’ll be their first playthroughs of these games if they didn’t pick up the port for Nintendo Switch. As someone who’s very fond of classic games and preservation I couldn’t help but smile at that.

So far the HD-2D remakes of Dragon Quest and Dragon Quest II are looking good, and packaging them together was a smart move by Square Enix as it means you’re getting the full story in one release. The collection launches 30 October later this year.